It Could Happen
by fei.fie.fo.fum
Summary: I figured these weren't too far from the realm of possibility. Most of it's gonna be about bb and rae. I'll throw in star rob and even cy, I swear. I don't give cy enough love, but I'm working on it! Honest!
1. Chapter 1

Started: 03/07/2007

Finished: 03/07/2007

Author's Note: A one-shot thing, so don't expect anymore y'all.

Summary: Raven wasn't always a Goth… scary thought, eh? And the way he was calling her Rae wasn't helping matters.

**Raven: A Diluted Ray's Tale**

Raven hated how he called her Rae.

She knew it was unintentional this way he called her Rae. It had to be on the subconscious level. It had to be. No one in their right minds should ever call her _that_ like _that_. She was the Goth of their little quintet, not the sprightly sunbeam that brought oodles of joy and warm fuzzy feelings to all.

No, she was supposed to be the Goth: the dark creepy one, the black sorceress, the vile half demon- not some cheery beam of diluted radiance.

But the way he said it… it brought back all the memories of what she once was. It brought back to the fore all the cheeriness that was Rachel before she truly understood her role as the Gem, the Portal, the Gate from which the End will Walk the World.

Raven is not a Goth by choice. It is a difficult concept to wrap one's mind about but ultimately true. She was not and is not a Goth by choice. She is a Goth because she needs to be a Goth. She needs the cynicism to be detached; a pessimist doesn't care about feelings so she won't either.

But the way he says Rae, that soft caress, the wild, unbridled joy that he puts into that one syllable… it was enchanting, powerful, moving. It brought back all of that optimistically daft happiness that was Rachel Roth. And it scares the hell out of her.

How can one syllable do that? How can one arbitrary syllable articulate all that happiness in the world and imply that _she_ was its source, its harbinger?

Sure, Cyborg calls her Rae. But Cyborg is laughing at the idea of Rae being a ray of sunshine. _Him_, he laughs because he's greeting her, greeting gladness with pleasure. That wild little bark of bliss at her presence is befuddling.

She was- no, is marginally a die-hard optimist. Happy-go-lucky was the best term to describe little Rachel and, to some extent, Raven. How can you not be happy-go-lucky when you're told that you will destroy the world on your sixteenth birthday (hell, she'd be hard pressed to lose her virginity at that rate! … that thought did not occur to her until she was fourteen…) and not seriously consider suicide? No, Rachel and Raven were die-hard optimists. That was not to say she hadn't contemplated suicide. She had, once or twice, but never too seriously. That was how optimistic she was. In fact she was too optimistic and her powers fair destroyed Azarath with the hope that filled her little heart. So she had to find a way to dampen that happiness- that hope. She had to find a balance.

So when she came to the world that she was supposed to destroy, providence must have been on her side to put her in the path of a pair of Goths. They oohed and ahhed at her pale skin and the violet pigmentation of her hair and eyes. She asked these funny people with white face paint and dark clothes what exactly a Goth was. They enthusiastically explained what Gothic culture was like (well as enthusiastic as a Goth can get). It was perfect.

There had been little need for her to alter her wardrobe: the monks (and nuns) of Azarath had tried to induce gravity into little Raven (they even changed her name) to try to calm her overflowing cheeriness. It did little good. Gothic culture held a flare of something to young Raven that drew her to it, though she had no notion of what it was exactly. The whole horror novels' bit, the black clothing (humor and all), the morbid fascination with death: it was everything that the monks of Azarath needed to calm her giddiness. It dulled the sharp feelings of joy that pierced her solemnity at every turn. And it was everything she wasn't.

So, slowly, she adopted the dark demeanor (she even had a book to help: How To Be A Cynic For Dummies… god, she'd die if he ever found that under her bed; she still needed it for reference and it was another reason why she didn't want anyone snooping around her room. The sarcasm, surprisingly, came naturally.). She was still adopting this persona when she met the rest of them and him, and it was also why she had laughed with him that one time. It was hard holding back her laughter; it was hard being around him and being unable to join in the fun. But she had to, had to maintain that balancing act. Had to throw him in the wall (though he does make a most delicious thump[1…), had to cut him down, had to, had to control herself. It was the only way.

And he just kept calling her that- Rae. Gods it ripped each one of her carefully entrenched defenses, eroded every chasm that she buried her joy in. Rae. Rae, Rae, Rae. Happy, peppy little Rae, cheerful Rae, hopeful Rae. He summoned all of that, through miles of barricade to the ever glowing delight that resided within her. And then she'd have to reel it all back, re-erect all of the ramparts that he so heedlessly trampled and summon anger to the fore to balance that thrice damned _glee_ that bubbled to the surface whenever he showed that damnable grinning face of his. Weren't demons supposed to be predisposed toward anger and violence? Where'd all this capricious joy come from?

Gods she hated the way he called her Rae.

"Hey Rae!"

…

No, really, she did.

…

Gods she hoped no one saw the blush painting her face.

End.

[1 Heads up, kiddies! A reference! Dedicated Hero07's wonderfully delicious one-shot 'Thump'. Remove the quotations (and the apostrophe s in Hero07's name) and you'll get, the, er, thing to put in the search engine, um, thing[I'm not very bright in the morning...

**Author's Note**: Man, I'm in kind of a rut here, can't concentrate on Old Magicks. Robin's hard to write, I don't want to spread myself so darn thin over all the characters. Cyborg deserves love and I have no idea what to do with the alien (gods damn it all! She's too cheerful, needs bitterness…). If any of you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Though trust me, I have plans of my own but I'll use what I like. And no, I won't steal your ideas… (eyes turn about shiftily)


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Don't know why I got fixated on food preparation, maybe because of Ratatouille. Anyways, I'm turning this thing into me oneshot reservoir for the Teen Titans. And no, I don't own jack.

Began: 7/3/2007

Finished: 7/3/2007

Summary: She was a disaster in the kitchen, but she knew her tofu...

**Between Ravens and Tofu; a Star-crossed Meeting**

Raven was a legend when it came to the kitchen. Not because she could cook, but because she couldn't. At all.

Sure, Starfire's creations were mutate-y and had a tendency to try to eat those trying to eat it, but at least her stuff comes out right occasionally (the rest of the Titans tend to believe that they came out right since Star seemed to enjoy scarfing the- delicacies down). Raven's stuff never came out right. Never.

In desperation, she turned to her trusty, kitchen-able friends.

She's tried to get cooking lessons from Cyborg. After she cleaned out the fridge of meat with nothing to show for it, besides a very much massacred kitchen, Cy refused to educate our favorite empath in the fine art of the food preparation (his words, as it were).

She'd turned to Robin next. It was a rather desperate gambit. Though Rob could cook, his stuff came out rather bland. It tasted right and all, but there was something very much missing. Probably because Robin never thought of cooking as an art form, not a line of passion could be found on his body when he handled the kitchen implements. They tried to prepare meat, they tried to prepare fruits and vegetables, and they even turned to vegetarian cuisine (she was utterly delighted at this turn of events but had no idea why her emoti-clones were so excited- even Rage's grumblings quieted to a simmering; she shrugged it off with a meh).

Every encounter was a disaster. One after the other, every single dish came out, without fail, to be inedible in one way or another. From being utterly revolting to being burned (how'd you manage that with a salad!!?) the disasters kept on piling up. But Robin, being Robin, stuck it out a little longer than Cyborg. After a week of the same thing happening over and over again, the fearless leader called it quits. Threw in the towel, so to speak. The fact that Raven's powers nearly brought down the tower from the pent up frustration might have affected the decision making process.

Finally, she turned to Starfire. If she couldn't make earth cuisine, maybe she should try her hand in un-earthly fare. This was a disaster to outdo all the other culinary disasters that came before. On the first try, the very first, Raven created an abomination that nearly ate the tower. Failing that (the two Titans were fiercely protective of their home), it had tried to make it to the mainland. The boys were pulled in to help stop the menace and it took the combined effort of all five of the core Titans to subdue the beast (funny enough, the thing was green).

After that disaster, she began to despair. She became more mope-y than was usual and began to turn to brooding. Her three teachers looked on sadly but didn't dare to even think about allowing Raven into the kitchen again.

Finally, Beast Boy intervened. After pranking her for a week straight and getting no response (not even a freakin' twitch), he'd had enough. Usually, Raven vented on him whenever he decided to pull one of these inanities on her (usually whenever he thought she was getting too down- he firmly ignored the voice in his head that told him he was suicidal and that only a love-struck idiot would pull things like that), but not this time. The green elf cornered the brooding sorceress and demanded that she spill. After holding out for five minutes, she caved and told of her misadventures in the Titan's place of food preparation (Starfire's words). Turns out, she was a demon in the kitchen and the apocalypse was going to come by neither fire or ice but former food stuff gorging on would-be diners (these were Raven's words).

After hearing of her plight, Beast Boy took it upon himself to getting her up to cooking snuff. He had no illusions of her becoming a world class chef thanks to his instruction (well, maybe a few), but he did want her to make a decent meal without have to go out (she couldn't utilize the microwave for anything other than heating a cup of tea when she was too lazy to properly steep it the old fashion way, with the kettle and all- the times she tried to prepare anything else had ended with an exploding microwave and a slightly radioactive kitchen).

They tried salads again, being simple and all.

No fire, no heat in the vicinity and she still burned the thing.

They tried fruit salads, the juice theoretically being able to counter any combustion that could show up.

It still came out burned.

They tried various vegetarian friendly foods (since the changeling refused to touch meat with a twelve meter pole). They looked to China, Japan, France, everywhere for recipes; nothing. She still burned or utterly ruined every dish. Raven was nearly hysterical from it all.

Then, then Beast Boy came up with the stupidest, most brilliant thing possible. He had her prepare tofu.

He had said there was no way anyone could prepare tofu wrong. He was slightly biased but Raven agreed all the same. After all, the fermented soy tasted so bad (to her, anyway) that the only way for it to go in matters of taste was up.

And miracle of miracles, they had found the solution to Raven's cooking problem.

Raven mixed with any other ingredient that could be found in a kitchen with cooking implements alone produced disaster. Raven with tofu and any ingredient that could be found in the kitchen (or out of it) with cooking implements produced ambrosia.

She was a goddess with the stuff. Somehow, somehow she knew what to throw in to a dish with tofu to create the most exquisite of flavors. She manipulated the texture like an artist touching up his canvas. The aroma was titillating and worked any saliva glands in proximity into overdrive. Even Cyborg praised it (that was before he knew it was tofu; after he did he ran to his shrine of meat and begged for forgiveness offering alms).

Robin, Starfire and Cyborg were delighted at Raven's achievement. Mostly relief on Cyborg's part, he still couldn't condone tofu, though he had to ask himself some very difficult questions (if it tasted like meat, if it felt like meat, but it wasn't meat, does that make it any less meaty?).

Beast Boy was utterly delighted. He saw few victories with his name attached to it. Didn't change the fact that he had them, though.

Raven was delighted to the point of being giddy. She had an excuse to share the meals that she prepared with a certain pointy eared green boy. Of course, she refused to admit to any such accusation. After all, she had a reputation to keep, even if it was to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I swore I was gonna get in on this and I have. Hah! Here you go, folks. Hope it's up to snuff.

Began: 7/21/07

Finished: 7/21/07

Summary: She was addicted...

**An Addiction Most Fowl...**

The thought of it consumed her every waking moment.

It was never far from her mind. How could it be? She was stuck with a constant green reminder, whispering sweetly in her mind, forcing her, reducing her will to tissue and turning her towards it.

She wasn't sure how much more she could take. The obsession… it consumed her every waking moment. Her attention, no matter what she was doing, returned to the closet where it was buried under countless pink articles, courtesy of Starfire.

She'd tried to wean herself off of it. She'd tried to deprive herself. Slowly, she developed a sterner constitution.

Days passed. She tried to wrap herself in other obsessions. She drank tea, she meditated, she read- no use; it continued to plague her mind. In a week's time, she gave into it.

The next attempt lasted longer. Two weeks before she caved.

Then, she met him. He coaxed her away from it; whispered sweet nothings and reassurances to her. Not even the constant green reminder would send her to it at the time. And for a while, she was clean, utterly blissful. He tried to make her throw it away altogether, but she wanted to keep it, as a reminder of her strength she said.

Then he betrayed her, and when he was finally taken care of she slept with it for weeks, constantly in her room alone, staring at it and remembering its promise. She knew she was addicted and the trapper didn't even know she was hooked. One dose and she was hooked for life. Pathetic, really.

She gave up and surrendered to its siren song. Eventually, she hooked up with her supplier. That one sell was all she ever got from him, but after they were hitched, he got her even more of the 'good stuff'.

Now, Raven Logan stared at the stuffed chicken in the baby room as she sat in the rocking chair, absently rubbing the ring on her left ring finger. He had wanted to inscribe 'ADDICTED TO FOWL' on it, but she had refused to allow for such ridiculousness. Absently, she patted her very pregnant belly, a soft smile on her lips.

That stuffed chicken was best thing that ever came of a carnival, she decided.


	4. Chapter 4

Date began: unknown

Date finished: 7/25/2007

Summary: Jinx, Cyborg and Kid Flash take matters into their own hands.

AN: Phew! The longest shot here. Oh well. Well, I guess a shout out to SxStrngSamurai and RabulaTasa are in order! Thanks for your help, both of you! Now, enjoy!

**The Schedule: An Introduction by Cyborg**

The sound of incessant clacking was quite evident as a certain teen detective took to updating files. If he remembered correctly, Beast Boy and Raven were having one of their lazy quiet moments and Star was preparing some sort of Tamaranean dish for him. He shuddered at the prospect but balked at the notion of turning the girl's hard work away. Glancing up, he looked toward the alien princess, his alien princess, and shuddered at the sight of the bubbling pink concoction before her.

Suddenly his mind was having difficulty staying on task. He felt light headed, dizzy. Where was Cyborg? Didn't he say something about going out? Wha-?

The world turned black as Robin's face smacked the keyboard.

Robin stirred groggily. His mind slowly rose above the haze that once clouded it as he slowly peeled his eyes open. The sight that met him had him thinking he was still under the influence of a sleep muddled mind. His agile brain slowly ground up to speed as he took in the cuffs securing his legs, torso and arms to the chair he was firmly seated to. Heck, every single one of his digits had been individually locked down. Cuffs secured every one of his limbs, not a single point of articulation on his body could so much as budge save his head but even that was minimal at best. He had been truly trapped. He briefly wondered how Batman would've gotten out of this one but quickly dismissed the thought as he tried to ascertain how exactly he'd ended up here. This was disturbingly similar to what had happened in the Titans first encounter with Mad Mod. Thinking of which, he turned as best he could to see who else had been taken, being as it wouldn't do to assume and all.

He was met with the of his green shape-shifter team-mate. He was still out and drooling slightly. It was odd to see the energized changeling so- still. His body was completely relaxed; the only indication that he was even alive was the trail of drool coming out of one corner of his mouth and the shallow rise and fall of his chest. It took a moment before the boy wonder was absolutely certain that the other was breathing, the motion was so minute.

"Beast Boy?" the young leader called, attempting to wake his friend. The shifter shifted only slightly before making his slow return to the waking world. He yawned, his mouth becoming a yawning cavern [1 and the boy wonder had to question his friend's diet. Those incisors were decidedly pointy and meat unfriendly.

Smacking his lips, the green teen turned fully to face his comrade, not being as well secured as his leader. He didn't seem to notice his own bondage [2 as he stared at his friend, half amused and half concerned for his sanity (whose he wasn't quite sure of either).

"Hey Rob," greeted the changeling cheerily, though he still sounded as if he was a little more than half asleep, "I know how gung ho you are about being an escape artist and all, but I think that's a little much."

Robin's domino mask twitched irritably.

"I didn't volunteer for this. Besides, you should take a look at your own situation."

"What situation?" the changeling glanced down to see himself firmly strapped down to see himself firmly attached to his own chair, with much less accessories than Robin to be sure, but still. "Oh, this situation." He glanced around. "Where's Cy?" before he tried to shift only to stare uncomprehending at the lack of change in his body.

"Don't bother, grass stain." The distinct clang of metal feet met the prisoners' ears. They didn't want to believe it, but no one else (save Slade) knew them well enough to neutralize them so utterly. Robin ground his teeth. There had been no signs. They were unarmed, they had no warning. How could this have happened? Why hadn't he seen?

"Dude, Cy…"

"I'm glad to see you both up."

"I'm not. Cy, please tell me this is some messed up prank. I'll forgive you if it is. I know I crossed the line when I got that old junkyard car and told you it was your baby, but this is seriously messed up."

"Beast Boy, how'd you get a car from a junkyard onto the island?"

"I have my ways, Rob."

Cyborg shook his head as he walked to stand before his friends, facing them with a calm smile on his face. Robin's mind was no doubt trying to desperately come up with a way to get him out of the seat and neutralize him. Beast Boy, well, he was still kind of in shock.

"Cy, man, why are you doing this? As a matter of fact, what are you doing?" asked the changeling, the shock slowly falling away as the sting of betrayal began to set in.

"I'm glad you asked, little man. Glad indeed." The smile on the robotic teen's face fell away as a serious expression took residence. The grim line was practically a frown. "Do you two have any idea what it's like to watch you two tip-toeing around your ladies?"

The changeling and boy wonder exchanged blank looks at each other as best they could. Of course it was rather difficult to do anyhow, what with Robin's mask and all.

"It was a nightmare! BB, you remember my stories as a veteran, right?" the elf blinked at him, trying to remember any war stories but failing. He was a teen for crying out loud. "So do you have any idea how it pains me to see you, either one of you, taking baby steps? No, this won't do, I won't stand for this in either one of my brothers!"

"Wait a second," growled Robin, "you mean you kidnapped the both of us, locked us up and left the city undefended!?"

"Chill fearless leader. 'course I didn't! I called in Kid and Jinx to cover for us. Actually, Kid's the one covering the city, Jinx be educating your dolls."

"WHAT!!?"

"Hey, I don't need you two in stereo."

Educating? What the hell did he mean by educating?

"Tin-man, how the hell did you get us?"

Said tin-man sighed at the delay. However, he couldn't very well get on with this without gloating a little. And what better way to gloat than to tell of his exploits.

"Well it was a rather simple matter of over-riding the security measures I installed and filtering knock out gas into ventilation system." He grinned; his own genius wowed even him. He shook himself out of his self induced stupor; even glory had its drawbacks, after all. "But the point of this meeting that you two must attend to is this." Pause for effect as his two (former) teammates stared at him with barely contained bloodlust. "You're moving too slow."

"Huh? All you wanted to do was hype up out training regime? That's it?" Robin stared at the tin-man in disbelief. If he wanted them to improve their speed, he'd have been happy to comply. He could understand restraining Beast Boy, but he was all gung-ho about training. Cy should know this.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. The boy detective sometimes came up with the weirdest conclusions.

"Not quite what I meant, Rob."

The Boy Wonder frowned. What could he be missing? Lazily, Beast Boy began to track the shimmering dust mote he had allowed to capture his attention. Cyborg tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the dense leader to come up with the answer to one plus one, in his opinion anyway. Rubbing his head in frustration (it was at times like these that he really wished he wasn't bald), the android finally had had enough.

"I'm talking about your relationships!"

"Huh?" the clueless wonder articulated his confusion quite well.

"The both of you!" screamed the half man half machine. "The lot of you! You're all so god danged slow! If I were in a relationship, I'd have bedded her on our first date!" The two gawking, half horrified looks on his (former) friends' faces told him right quick that they were virgins in this business. Sighing at this turn of events, he decided to use more elementary, virgin friendly material to educate his incompetent comrades.

"Alright," he grumbled as he pulled down a chart. He hadn't hoped to use this; it was grade school in his opinion, juvenile really. But it was the way to go if he wanted to get the boys up to speed and help them with moving their relationship to the next level. Ah, how selfless he was. "This is how the dating world works." Better not let them think there were other alternatives. That way they wouldn't try to pussy out of it.

Robin stared at the timetable, blinking incomprehensively at it. What did baseball have to do with anything? He was about to ask but Beast Boy beat him to it.

"Uh, dude, have you ever thought that maybe we like where we are? I don't know if you know, but I like how things are going between me and Rae."

"Um," the hesitant tone to the Boy Wonder's voice was practically unheard of. That's why two pairs of eyes turned toward him, attentions firmly fixed. "Are you trying to get us on a double date… playing baseball against each other? Because, as interesting as that seems, I don't know how the girls would take to that."

The other guys stared at him. They couldn't believe he didn't know about the bases… then again, he was raised by the Bat himself. Beast Boy was the first to break the awkward silence (well, for Robin anyway, you try having two of your friends staring at you with pity about something he should've already known).

"Oh you poor, poor man." Cyborg could only nod in heartfelt agreement. A thought struck the half android. He looked at Beast Boy, nodding toward their fearless leader. A silent conversation but nonetheless heated discussion took place. Robin looked on, confusion mangling his brain. Finally, with a distressed look on his face, Cyborg turned to Robin with an obviously distressed look in his eye while an equally fake smile was plastered to his lips.

"Hey, Rob, my man- please tell me you know about the birds and the bees." The half robot looked awfully pathetic in that moment.

"Of course I know about birds and bees." Cyborg prayed, Cyborg begged, but that lack of 'the' wasn't promising. "They're connected in the fact that some species of birds aid in the pollination of flowers that that bees are quite well known for. That what you were looking for?"

"Not quite, but I guess we'll work on that eventually," Cy grumbled to himself eyes on the floor as his head moved to convey his disbelief. Beast Boy just stared at his former role model, completely devastated. "B will explain it all in due time."

Beast Boy's head snapped toward Cyborg so fast he gave himself whiplash. "We agreed that you were the one best suited if such a situation arose!"

"Nuh-uh grass stain. I'm already martyring myself trying to move you two along-"

"WE DON'T WANT YOU TO!!" came the vehement reply from the green teen, but Cy just plowed on.

"- so it's only fair that you pick up on some of the slack," the metallic teen finished off proudly.

Beast Boy fumed as best as he was able to. His jaw was clenched tight, and if it wouldn't've bothered his fangs, he'd probably be grinding his molars. Cy should really learn how to keep out of other people's businesses or else a certain 'baby' was going to meet a most untimely of demises. Muttering under his breath, the changeling decided to keep relatively quiet and hoped that this would end quickly and relatively painlessly.

Cy had other ideas of course. The robotic teen turned his back on his wayward and completely unwilling students.

"Now, getting back on track. When it comes to dating, propriety demands that certain rules and protocols be followed. Most of the protocols are pretty much common sense. The rule of thumb under all circumstances, don't piss off your date."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes at that one, everyone followed that rule (Raven, it should be mentioned, had an indescribable urge to desperately smack Beast Boy for some inexplicable reason at the time). He blinked. Well, for the most part, he amended (Raven's urge died down significantly, leaving her very much confused).

"But dating isn't all about just making sure your date doesn't hate your guts, it's about getting intimate- and apparently," here Cy glared, "you two are impossible in that department. Which calls for my intervention."

The animorph tried his best to refrain from commenting. He didn't like repeating himself so it would probably serve him better to keep his mouth shut. Raven would've been proud- for all of five seconds.

"Dude, we told you! Our relationships are perfectly fine the way they are!" The whining would've sent him a-thumping on a wall if Raven had been present.

"I'm still confused, what's with the baseball?"

Cyborg grunted in vexation, his back firmly turned towards the blackboard/LCD screen. "We've been over this man- BB will explain the baseball metaphors," here he was again interrupted by an indignant squawk, "and I'm doing you both a favor so hush!

"Now, we all know that in y'all still in the pre-dating phase. That means you're limited to certain things. Example: exchanging sweet nothings, companionable silences, 'discussions', in short, rather tedious things all told. In the dating game, if you're exceptionally skilled, you can hit a home run on the first date. I'm proud to say that I am that skilled. However, a word of stern warning: home runs change everything. It ain't all flowers and sunshine after that, not always. So, that would probably mean you won't be hitting it out of the ballpark."

Robin sort of stared at his titanium friend. Then, with a slow deliberate blink behind his mask, he looked to be trying to desperately to process the information he had just been given.

"But since our goal is to get you guys up to date and on Schedule, you'll be aiming for home-runs on your second date. You two are lucky, you've already established a comfortable relationship with your, ah, other halves. That should move things along quite nicely."

Beast Boy stared incredulously at his friend. He had dreamed of 'doing the deed' with Raven, what kind of red blooded male hadn't, but to accomplish something like that on a second date? Okay, forgetting the fact that he didn't want to push Raven into something he wasn't ready for, he wasn't sure he was ready either. So he had a few fantasies- it didn't mean had to make a move on his girl. It'd be nice, he supposed, but he wasn't even sure if it was his more, primal half going for a mate or himself wanting to push the relationship to the next level. Turning to the Boy Wonder to see his reaction to all of this, Beast Boy was reminded, quite firmly, that the poor sucker was still 'lost'. Absently, the green teen began to work on the right cuff with the lock-pick that Robin had supplied him. It was little more than a piece of wire. He still wasn't sure how the boy wonder had kept that in his mouth.

"Now, if you prefer, we could go to an even slower paced Schedule, but any slower and it would be completely off Schedule." That was a complete lie, of course. "On this track, you'll be moving on to the respective bases for the respective date. So, first date, first base, second date, second base and on and on." Hmm, almost through the lock, ah free. With one free hand picking the others were a snap. Cy was still fixed to his 'educating'. "Nowadays, first base could mean various things, from kissing to groping. Modern times have allowed for a more extensive vocabulary. We'll not get into that." Robin smirked as his thoughts turned vicious, keep talking while Beast Boy frees me from my bonds. Then, then the real fun will begin. Beast Boy was a little nervous at seeing the rather insane grin on his teen leader's mouth.

For a while, Cy continued to prattle on about strategy and creating atmosphere. He also mentioned something about talking to their respective partners before moving along with any plans. He mentioned something about subtlety and pointedly called for Beast Boy to pay extra attention whenever he delved into that. After a while, he noticed.

"Hey, you two've been quiet," he commented absently as he began to turn, "have you final-"

He cut himself short as he came face to face with two very much unbound ex-prisoners.

"Hey Cy, let's chat," the former side kick to the world's greatest detective declared as he popped his knuckles, advancing menacingly with a grim Beast Boy at his side.

After the tar and stuffing was beat out of their wayward teammate, they extracted the location of their, ah, interests and liberated them from Jinx's clutches. The pair of them seemed rather traumatized. Raven was muttering something about baseball metaphors not ever being used that way before and that some person named Arella (Beast Boy wasn't telling) hadn't gone beyond talking about bases. Everyone, for the most part didn't inquire about the gods-forsaken metaphors.

Everyone, that is, except Starfire, who asked a very flustered Robin about it. And Robin cursed the fact that his antisocial mentor was also a very well versed player and had been adamant in teaching him 'the ways of women'. It really didn't help that Robin couldn't help blushing to the roots of his hair and Batman took sadistic pleasure in torturing his young pupil. He still couldn't believe he hadn't blushed beet red when Cy mentioned bases. That had been one tough act to pull through.


	5. Chapter 5

Started: 7/30/2007

Finished: 8/1/2007

Summary: Beast Boy's thoughts on the famous hug.

Author's Note: So I might be giving him more credit than some of you thinks he deserves. Well, to that I say: toughie! This is my got-damed shot, and I'll write whatever the heck I please! So there!

**Honorbound**

That hug had been unexpected. Really, really unexpected.

Raven wasn't one to hug people. She was the farthest from touchy feely as one could get. She didn't do touchy feely- just as she didn't do fear, the green elf supposed. It was an embrace that left him gob-smacked and dizzy with euphoria.

Hey, any red blooded male would've been. Come on people, Raven was a prime example when it came to an exceptional female figure at her age. Her personality, not so much, but that's more of an acquired taste anyway. But the jolly green metamorph was happy in that instant that she clung to him, molded her body to _hi__s_ for comfort. It was like the greatest achievement ever- but it had to end.

Slowly, with a deliberateness that spoke volumes of his reluctance, he pushed her away.

For a while, he couldn't understand why he had done so. A part of him was screaming at him, calling him a gods be damned fool (much less eloquently, or more depending on the perspective). And for a moment, he was tempted to agree.

But as he played that no bars held round of stankball (two on one against Cyborg, the idiot), he slowly came to understand his own reasoning.

He'd been honor-bound to do so.

Emotional distress was dangerous; very painful and utterly perilous. The first thing that relieves you of such agony pretty much becomes likened to morphine in a very real sense. And if too much is administered, the patient could become addicted.

Now, if he had designs upon Raven like that (not that he had any, mind you, all '_if's_ here) he'd have been an idiot to pass up something like that. But it would have been dishonorable in his eyes. To move in while someone was in an emotionally weakened state was beyond pathetic on his part, it was disgraceful and treacherous. Beast Boy would very much like to think that if he wanted to secure a woman's heart, he'd not need to go around picking up broken women that some sick dragon tossed aside (he was much more- descriptive in his turn at describing exactly what exactly that worm was).

And then a blue form was in front of him, catching a very sour, _foul_ smelling stankball and returning it towards a very unlucky tin-man with much- enthusiasm.

Very pretty amethysts turned to him, glittering with mischief and merriment in a carefully empty face (though he swore he saw a slight upturn to her very attention holding lips), and he would later hold an inquiry upon the hypnotic properties of said optics. She said something along the lines of 'pay attention, moron', he couldn't quite remember the exact wording, and turned back to give chase to their metal friend.

This was going to be very, very difficult. Sometimes he really despises his honor. 'You should always help a friend in need.' 'Don't take advantage of a situation with your friends.'

Troublesome…


	6. Chapter 6

Started: 8/31/2007

Finished: 8/31/2007

Author's Note: Do they know...?

Summary: In which Beast Boy knows his biology... and Rae didn't.

**In the Name of Friendship, Duty and... Tampons**

He had noticed it. Not much escaped the green of his knowing nose. He smelled it in the air. Someone was about to menstruate. It was good to know these things, survival was a top priority.

He watched his teammates carefully. Well, his female teammates anyway. Unless one of the guys weren't telling the truth, it couldn't be one of them. So he kept surveillance, watching as the cloaked one retreated further into the blue, wince at nothing and generally becoming crabby and then swinging round to apologetic at a moment's notice.

For a day, he was satisfied with just knowing. But the course of the day changed his position quite drastically. For one thing, she didn't go out to buy any feminine products to take care of business (he had so been looking forward to teasing her about it). For another, she kept going into her room, changing and finally coming back out to gaze at her friends forlornly as if she had a death sentence written out for her. As if she was going to be seeing them for the last time.

Garfield 'Beast Boy' Logan was not an idiot. Really. He knew what was going on biologically and he could make a pretty edumacated guess at what was going on in Raven's pretty little head (not that he thinks she was pretty, she is pretty, but that means nothing, mommy and daddy always said it was bad to lie, unless it's like there's a hostage situation or something; then it's acceptable). She thought she was dying. What with the cramps, mood swings and, gods forbid, bleeding who wouldn't think that?

So, with the best of intentions in mind (not to mention an aversion towards an untimely death and demise), he turned to his leader to solve the problem. Good ol' Rob, he'd take care of this posthaste.

The conversation didn't go quite as planned.

-i-

"Dude, Rob man, I need to talk to you."

"Is it about Raven?" he didn't even look up from his paper. Wait, his hand was moving- no, he was just reaching for some toast. God damed, it was hard getting that boy away from his morning paper at the table. He didn't even look up to see the toast before crunching it in his mouth. Shaking away the errant thoughts plaguing his mind, BB returned to the task at hand.

"How'd you know?" the changeling got into the seat adjacent to the boy wonder's at the head of the table. He looked around cautiously on the lookout for anyone that could possibly overhear _this_ conversation.

"You've been eyeing her for a while now. And while we're at it, you know why Raven isn't getting any feminine products to take care of her feminine needs?" there was a slight hesitation each time before he said feminine. It was hard to pick up but with BB's pointy green ears, you don't really miss a lot when it came to the auditing department.

"Er, well," he hesitated. If he continued, he'd be going into no-man's land. There would be no heli to get him the hell out. But this was for Raven, for the girls (possibly). He couldn't in good conscience abandon them to their monthlies, though every instinct inside of him declared otherwise. Taking another steadying breath, he jumped in, "I don't think she's ever had the Talk."

Dead. Silence.

Robin didn't know it, but his brain was tracking the same process that had gone through the poor changeling's head last night. The both of them knew of the limited past that was on Raven's file (Robin didn't know that Beast Boy knew- yet). She was raised by monks. Stoic monks that taught her to repress herself, limit her curiosity and just about everything else in life. She'd left her mother too early to have needed the Talk (and yes, it does necessitate capitalization). And if her reading material was anything to go by, then she wasn't about to encounter that kind of information. She read fantasy and fiction for entertainment. She read spell books and other informational books. But there wasn't a book in the tower about menstruating. The boys wouldn't hear of it and neither Star nor Raven had been curious about it. Which led to another worrying thought- does Starfire know. Robin (poor boy) was on the verge of a heart attack.

A strangled croak escaped the boy wonder's throat. Beast Boy nodded, satisfied that his companion had reached the same conclusion he had. The croak probably signified the fact that the boy detective had come to the same conclusion he had about Starfire. No one else could curry such a response from him. Now to lead him to Gar's logical conclusion.

"Now, as the leader, you have to inform them of the topics discussed in the Talk." Man, it had taken him a while to construct that rehearsed sentence. He was sure it was going to get this thing going his way.

This was where things went down the drain for the green muchkin.

"Nuh-uh, you're not going anywhere Beast Boy." He had taken on the Tone (for the last time!...) grabbing the changeling as he tried to get up, Robin pulled him right back down. "You brought this up, so you're in on this too. I'm not getting both of them mad at me at the same time. I'll be massacred. You're telling Raven, I'll," he choked, "handle Star."

The stunned changeling stared at him. When the words finally set in, he began to panic. "WHAT!? No way man, she'll rip me limb from limb! Probably worse!" he was scrambling to get out of the room then.

Grabbing the changeling, the boy detective dragged him as stealthily as he could to his Spartan quarters. There he, he threw in the terrified green boy and locked the door.

"I can't talk to them both at once." The boy wonder was thinking on his feet. Hopefully, the changeling was too out of it because of the situation to notice the loopholes in the argument. "If I talked to the both of them, they'll rip me to pieces. You wouldn't want that on your conscience now, would you BB?"

The green changeling shook his head morosely. He could see the logic of it and he couldn't just leave his friend to the fishes. With a sigh, he voiced his agreement. "Divide and conquer?"

"Divide and conquer," the masked teen replied, holding in the sigh of relief. He was lucky that Gar was easily distracted, or he'd have the mess of a life time on his hands. He furiously squashed down the noble voices in his head, clamoring at him for leaving a friend in the lurch. He replied, equally firm, that it was either him or us. That didn't shut them up.

"Can I look through your wardrobe, man? I think I'm going to need to cover up for this stage of my plan."

The boy wonder left his internal argument to look quizzically at his friend. "Plan?"

-ii-

So, here he was, in front of the convenience store that was closest to the Tower. In a trench-coat, scarf, boots and shades. In the blistering summer heat. Trying desperately, oh so desperately, to work up the nerve to walk in, find what he was looking for and leave without incident.

It wasn't too bad, considering. He could change his voice with a little bit of morphing. Add a little height to himself without too much strain. Nothing he could do about his skin though, that was staying green but it was covered up as best he could. So, thus nerved, he walked in.

When he finally found the aisle that contained what he needed, he could only gawp in awe-filled and terrified fascination. How could there be so many varieties? Wasn't it like one size fit all? What happened to interchangeable parts? He knew he was wigging out, but dang it, this really calls for wigging in the worst possible way!

He didn't know which type Raven needed and, hell, Raven didn't know what she needed. With a strangled scream in his throat, he turned around, got a shopping cart and methodically took one of each item offered. He was in disguise, he consoled himself. No one would recognize him unless they looked really closely.

The security guard eyed the oddly dressed man with a raised eyebrow. The get up was bound to garner attention. But as he watched, he couldn't help the twitch to his lips as the poor man continued to- shop. Everyone else watched bemusedly as he threw in product after product into the cart. Everyone else in the store had long stopped to stare at him, and when he entered that aisle, their attention had been riveted most determinedly.

It had been either anonymity or going unseen; the boy had chosen to go for anonymity. Stealth was more of Rob's department anyway.

Beast Boy strode as nonchalantly as he could to the register. He thanked whatever had been watching over him that he'd decided to bring every cent he had here. He still barely covered the fee due. When he finally walked out the door, there had been uproarious laughter, but he was winging it home by then, awkwardly carrying his- prizes. He shuddered and nearly dropped altitude but quickly corrected himself. He was not losing those- those _things_ in the bay. He'd suffered too much to just let them go like that.

-iii-

He stared at her door. The Forbidden Door, le Porte Perilous, the Room-that-shall-Not-be-Mentioned. He gulped as his eyes traced the block script. Raven. He could almost hear her groaning behind the thick steel of her door. And the war waged silently within him. On the one hand, he wanted to end her suffering and reassure her that what she was going through was completely normal (for them anyway) but on the other, he so wanted not to have that kind of conversation with her.

Mustering the dregs of his courage up, he reached out and knocked as firmly as he was able.

"Rae?" the call was weak and he admonished himself. How could he even consider not availing a friend in need (did he use that right?)? It was his duty as a friend to help them bring an end to their pain and suffering and offer light fluffy bunnies to make their world brighter.

Well, minus the bunnies.

"Rae." This call had a little more of his usual spunk to it. He knocked again, firmly to get her attention. He was answered with a groan. Frowning, he turned and called over his shoulder. "I'll be back in a minute."

Leaving his hefty 'peace offerings' at her door, he rushed to the kitchen, intent upon preparing tea. He was surprisingly good at it. One time, he'd knocked over her cup when she left to get her book from the niche that she dwelled in. That had led him to experiment with tea preparation, no one got between Raven and her tea without proper justification if they wanted to live. And sometimes (it was rumored among the boys) not even then.

So he had experimented with tea preparation and had prepared what he hoped would pass muster. She seemed oddly calmed by the blend he concocted, pleased even, and was never really able to figure out how she got it (she didn't). And going on her pleased perplexity, he'd memorized the ingredients and servings required to make the 'BB special'.

Returning with a cup of his blend, he turned toward the door to Raven's abode. His offerings were still there and the door was still denying him entrance. He knocked again.

"C'mon Rae, I've got you some tea. I'm sure you'll feel better with a sip." He tried to sound enticing. He did.

The door swished open. Smiling, he grabbed the bag of feminine products and marched in.

Raven was hunched over her bed miserably holding her abdomen. He offered her a sympathetic smile and handed her the tea. She eyed it warily and inhaled the aroma. Recognizing the flavor that haunted her inner tea-connoisseur, she sipped methodically and nearly moaned as the flavored liquid hit her tongue. Beast Boy blushed at the verbalization. This was so wrong.

"I didn't know you could make tea." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "Where and why did you learn? What's in the bag?"

"Er, that's not important." Her suspicions were confirmed. She had wondered why her tea had changed flavors in the ten minutes of her absence, not to mention her mysteriously depleted tea leaves. "What is important is that we talk about your situation right now."

Raven stiffened. She knew what was happening (well, she thought she did anyhow). She was f-ing dying, that's what. What else could it be with the cramps, mood swings and all around crappy circumstances? That was not mentioning her tender areas and migraine.

What followed out of Beast Boy's mouth was frightening and downright disturbing. How could this be so? What kind of a mad-man would concoct something like this to foist upon female-kind (yes, they're indeed a different species; she refused to be associated with such crass beings as males). It made no sense. Weren't they already pushing out the offspring? What cruelty was this? Unprovoked and unjustified. She zoned for a minute, despairing at her lot.

"But rest assured Rae," she didn't even bother to correct him on that point; if he had hope to offer then he had her full attention. "I've got you feminine hygiene products! They're supposed to help!" the changeling grinned enthusiastically. He grabbed his offerings and displayed the contents within with a hint of pride, anything for a friend. "Here, I didn't know what type you'd need, so I got one of everything. You can experiment!" he said that like it was some sort of a great adventure. Or at least he was trying to advertise it as such.

"Beast Boy, I didn't even know these things existed," she returned with a pout-like glower. "What am I supposed to do with," she took out a box and read the front, "tampons?"

The monks of Azarath had never explained to her the, um, facts of life. She'd only noticed that at some times the women would retreat somewhere and became extremely cranky and mean. She wasn't even sure they'd had 'feminine products' that supposedly eased the suffering where she was from. And to have it all laid out by the immature green changeling was a little off this side of sane.

Beast Boy did not like where this was going. He didn't like the question he could see in her eyes. He didn't like the way she was holding the box of- of unmentionables. He tried desperately to find some way to get out of the situation he knew in the pit of his stomach that he was in for.

A couple of hours later, interspersed with a few mishaps here and there, Beast Boy finally crawled out of her room, battered and weary. Raven was comfortably sleeping, avoiding the headache that plagued her. Beast Boy did not come out as unscathed as she. He was given an impromptu lesson on how to use feminine products through a door. He (and he'd never tell anyone about this) had even made suggestions as to how exactly one was supposed to use them when Rae had been confused. Oh, the indignity. He wasn't even sure he could call himself a man anymore. When she came out of the bathroom, there was just the hint of a wicked smile to her face.

Reaching his safe bastion, he climbed onto his bunk (the lower one, he was too exhausted to make the climb to the top) and dropped into a blissful sleep. Or at least he tried to. Something about his conversation with Robin didn't sit right with him. The conversation with Raven was firmly being suppressed.

Wait a sec., Star wasn't on that- thing. He didn't have to talk to both of them at the same time. Why that little…

"ROBIN!!"


	7. Chapter 7

Began: 2008/06/28

Finished: 2008/06/28

Author's note: okay, so I played with Rorek, sue me. And I have beef with historians. Sue me again. I might turn this into a whole ficcy, and if anyone else wants it, or to expand on any of these, be my guest. Just mention me in passing.

Disclaimer: To all who see these presences, greetings. Lord fei of the kingdom of fie, master of fo, count of fum, forthwith disclaims his mastery of teen titans. Let all here know this and relinquish their lawsuits upon his person.

Summary: in which things get dicey and Rorek's to blame- sorta.

**Of a Wizard(ess), a Sorceress, and an Elf**

Unbeknownst to her friends, Raven had an unwanted spirit hanging about her ever since the whole Malchior ordeal. His name was Rorek, and he was a nuisance. Legends have a tendency to distort the truth.

You see, history is remembered by those who live to tell of it. Rorek didn't live to tell of his own, he was inadvertently trapped by his scaly foe. And in all honesty, when it came down to raw magical reserves between the two of them, Malchior came up on top. Rorek was clever, but he wasn't very special otherwise, which made it remarkably easy for other people to gaff him off as a joke- came with the territory and everything.

Thus it was that Rorek's name was switched into villainy and Malchior was paraded the hero with a little touch of magic on the wyrm's side of the equation. However, Malchior didn't write the book himself. Other wizards did. But why sing Rorek's praises when he was already dead to the world; simply put- pride.

In Rorek's time, the beings being labeled mythical today were already hunted down to nigh on nonexistence. No one really studied them anymore, no one save Rorek. They had been dismissed as irrelevant but Rorek pursued the study of these 'lesser' beings with a passion, fascinated by them. As a matter of fact, he was considered a bit of a geek. Everyone had dismissed him like the 'fanciful lore' that he studied. That is, until Malchior decided to come a-knocking.

To be honest, Rorek sympathized with Malchior. The lizard was just about the last of his kind. Being compassionate towards man had led to their demise; surely destroying the pests must be the solution. And so, Malchior struck out and delivered the first blow instigating war.

After trying and failing to talk Mal out of it (he had a tendency to give nick names, and he loved the sound of Rae), the wizard sealed the drake in a tome- only to have the tables turned on him as he was dragged into confinement as well.

However, when Raven was sealing Malchior away, both Rae and Mal failed to detect Rorek. Malchior because he'd been actively ignoring the mage for years (oh god, the years), and Raven because she had a bigger fish/lizard/thing to fry. And thus, he escaped confinement.

The fact that his body was largely incorporeal since it didn't survive the whole being sealed into a tome thing helped.

When the eccentric mage finally caught the notice of the Tower's empath, she quickly got over her surprise and quickly became annoyed. The mage oohed and ahhed over the advances of modern technology and quickly developed firm interests in the internet, the gamestation, and the Tower's resident changeling.

Rae quickly learned that those two would get along swimmingly and that irked her to no end.

So it was that Raven had an even shorter temper than usual as she took out much of her frustration with Rorek on the hapless changeling. Rorek didn't take too well to this and admonished the dark sorceress to no end.

Historians are very misleading. History is told by the victor in war and in the victor's absence, his allies. Unfortunately, Rorek didn't have very staunch allies; in fact, they were all rather selfish braggarts. Pride and vanity allowed them to edit certain facts, such as the fact that Rorek was a girl. There were many other gross inaccuracies, but that was the most glaring one.

Over time it appears Rorek had developed a crush on the green boy. Should have seen it coming, but there it goes.

For reasons that remain unknown, this fanned the flames of the dark bird's ire. As a matter of course, Beast Boy received the blunt end of the stick. Things quickly went downhill then, their relationship deteriorating so quickly that it dissolved to nigh on nonexistence.

Rorek was not pleased. Her ire was terrible to behold and with deft words, the mage had Raven examining and evaluating her own mental state. Which quickly led to a startling conclusion- Raven liked pointy-eared, annoying changelings with more depth to their person that wasn't readily apparent at first glance.

This led to a rather awkward period of time between the houses of Logan and Roth.

At last, Starfire began pestering, gold hearted as she was, she couldn't stand watching the drifting apart between her good friends. With a bit of poking, prodding, and (of course) pestering, she finally fished the answer out of Raven. With a combined assault between Starfire and her invisible accomplice in Rorek, Raven was quick to cave between them, even if it was just so she could have a bit of peace.

Unbeknownst to the girls, Beast Boy had been talking to Cyborg, unable to understand the situation. He'd been cutting back on his whole annoy the hell out of Raven shtick. As a matter of fact, he'd been positively on his best behavior, only ever asking her once in a while to join him in video gaming, and after the heartfelt rejection, not even pursuing the matter with all that much heat. As a matter of fact, she blew up at him for even talking to her. Now with this awkward lull in things, the changeling was appreciably confuzzled. He had continued to pester her for group activities and he did on occasion try to engage her personally. But he'd been trying to be considerate for once in his life and she kept blowing up at him for even saying her name.

Cy, being Cy, decided that Raven just needed to be left alone. He loved his little sister to pieces but the girl, to be honest, was complicated and required much patience. And though his little buddy had patience (you should see him when he went through the whole trial and error deal when he tried to provoke a certain response from a violet haired half demoness), he applied it rather incorrectly in his eyes. Cy had decided it'd probably be best if BB let Rae come to him instead of pursuing relentlessly as was the norm.

Incidentally, Beast Boy decided that this whole endeavor with Raven was rather hopeless and decided to abandon all hope for the girl forthwith. Even if she were to come around, he would rebuff her advances. It just wasn't worth it anymore.

And just like that, it'd become an uphill battle for Raven.

The roles were suddenly reversed as Beast Boy all but ignored her. Dragging his attention to her was all but impossible unless it was life threatening. On the plus side of things, he didn't attack her verbally.

Another discussion of things went down between Robin and Beast Boy, mostly on the promptings of Starfire on Raven's behalf to help settle things to the Boy Wonder. This led to a rather in depth discussion between the two males about Beast Boy's, er, relationship with Raven. Oddly enough, things just weren't adding up well for a romance. At the earlier stages of things, it was almost acceptable, but, unbeknownst to them, after the heckling addition of Rorek, things kinda went downhill. It had been rocky before, but then it took a sharp turn towards the verge of abusive- and he had been cutting back on the whole annoyance thing! And then, wonders of wonders, the one and only wonderbread declared that that indeed might have been the problem.

Beast Boy had gaped, open mouthed at the very idea. For a good, uncomfortable two minutes, silence filled the kitchen area. Robin even twitched. Robin didn't twitch, it was uncouth and Alfred wouldn't have approved.

After a while of contemplation, Beast Boy finally decided, maybe, just maybe, there was something between Raven and him. Maybe.

And so, a strange and quirky courtship began- resumed, whatever. Of course, with characters this willful, contrary, and in constant flux, it was simply impossible for them to have a 'smooth' relationship. Besides, Beast Boy decided, rocky road ice cream was way better than just plain ol' vanilla. Now if he could only convince Rae of that…

**End Chappy**



Author's end note: so it's more of a summary than anything, it was rotting my plot work with Old Magicks, so I got it off the noggin'.


	8. Chapter 8

**author's note:** okay, i know it's heinous of me not to update, but it's so hard to write. i just can't seem to muster the will to work on anything really. hope this could placate any of my readers (that're left, anyway). tried out for the fifty snippets thing. random words are fun!

**1. Wrapped- **

It was funny how everyone just sort of assumed it was Beast Boy wrapped around Raven's little finger- it fell in neatly with the rest of the categorization that society was so bent on caging around people. After all, a half demon must trump an insignificant little were-ling after all. A demon up against a beast? No contest in such a score.

But then again, it was Beast Boy who teased Raven out of her room against her will and ensnared her in the mesh of life and living.

**2. Indulge-**

Machines can't sin- it's a simple matter since they don't have souls. So Cyborg sins on a daily basis, kind of like he's checking in with God, you know. I'm still down here, a gluttonous wretch. Haven't forgot me now, right?

**3. Siblings-**

Soul mates. Soul siblings. Beast Boy never really got the difference until he met Terra and compared her to Raven. After that, the matter was settled. With Terra, he wasn't alone, but with Raven, he was complete.

**4. Tofu-**

There was a reason for his obsession with the soy product. One very simple reason- it was flavorless. Having no flavor, it simply couldn't overwhelm his sensitive palette.

**5. Bald-**

He wasn't going to lose his hair anytime soon. She knew it with a surety that didn't come from precognition but from knowing him- if he wasn't under stress for an extended duration it wouldn't play up his biology any.

But if he kept stuttering like that before her glower he very well might she thought smugly as he attempted to confess his secret feelings for her.

**6. Hard-**

Beast Boy?

Yeah?

Why do you have a hard hat?

No reason. Why?

**7. Shuriken- **

They were an upgrade. They were compact, dealt more damage, but still caught the eye distractingly. But as he packed the last of his bird-a-rangs away, he couldn't help but feel that he was losing a part of himself that he wanted desperately to hold onto.

**8. Star-**

She couldn't help that she was staring at them. Robin had given her the book Stargirl (1) of all things. She had been a bit hesitant to read it but did. By the end of it, she was staring at them, Starfire and Beast Boy that is.

And as she stared after them, she couldn't help but wonder if Robin was trying to warn her about something.

**9. Hollow-**

Meditation. She was so reluctant, so hesitant in her exercises these days that it was a miracle the Tower was still standing after all this time. But the point of her meditation was to empty herself of, well, herself.

But he kept pouring himself into her and she couldn't find it within her to push him out.

**10. Weird-**

She was weird, eerie, and, of course, creepy. He sighed as he finally resigned himself to it. He was hopelessly, undeniably an aficionado of weird, strange and beyond.

He wondered if being deliriously giddy about the prospect was a sign of the crazies coming on. The tin-man and bird-boy would probably have him committed if they ever learned of this.

**11. Difficulty-**

Everything was so delicate now, from handling the silverware to holding a test tube. Circuit building was a nightmare and don't even get him started on his baby. The only thing that came easy for him now was when he was having it out with Mammoth or Starfire in a training session.

But having that all said and done, he was still smiling at the end of it as he surreptitiously watched Raven and Beast Boy bicker fondly and then almost gags at Robin and Starfire cuddling.

**12. Friendship-**

It was much more difficult to make friends when one is, well, eccentric. The complexion thing was rather daunting and the awe was not unlike a suffocating aura that seeped from the pores of the skin. Finding an ordinary companion to escape from it all was next to impossible with that wretched, towering keep of otherness that kept all comers at bay- and with none of Rapunzel's golden tresses to pull them up.

Luckily enough, most eccentrics were rather fond of being un-eccentric every now and then.

**13. Sampling-**

She didn't have much in the way of opportunity when it came to exploring cultures. She had always been an avid student when it came to history; her own world's tale had fascinated her though the violence was rather disturbing. Then she had been left to the tender mercies of the Citadel.

That had been a bit of a turn off.

Then she found Earth with all of its inhabitants and cultures, rich with flavors and facets that dazzled her eyes. While her world's culture had fully developed into one, Earth's was still trying to find a unifying identity and that made it so special and she felt honored to be able to be there.

And she couldn't help being just a little disappointed to find her friends so hesitant when it came to cultural exchange.

**14. Sarcasm-**

It used to be that it would fly over his head. It used to be him that he was the most sincere, the most committed to any one thing he would undertake. But then it started flying out of his mouth and he was just so tired of the cards fate kept dealing. He gave up.

He gave in to the world.

**15. Illiterate-**

She feels like she's fighting an uphill battle, tackling insurmountable odds, and, considering who she was trying to tutor, outfitted in outdated equipment. Then she learns how his parents, people of science the both of them, died and how his foster parents (people of aristocracy), more or less, abandoned him and she found that she didn't really have much of anything approaching a chance to begin with. Understandably, he'd have a certain aversion towards anything relating to the sciences. This wasn't mentioning the fact that he had a rather severe case of attention deficit disorder to begin with.

But come roaring fire or high tide, she was going to teach him one way or the other. Because- the gods be damned- if he refuses to give up on her than she sure as hell wasn't going to give up on him.

**16. Gossip-**

Social interaction. It was a thing of politics and social graces. To glean information from peers without betraying friends. To give nothing away and take away plenty. It was one of the highest forms of social combat and a princess of Tamaran would be no slouch in the matter.

She shifted awkwardly as Raven gaped at her, floored.

**17. Fame-**

They were famous. He was so used to being nefarious that it came as quite a shock to him. Being the only white kid in a populace predominantly of a darker persuasion, in their homeland of all places, didn't really endear him to many. Not to mention the village shaman being on his case. Then to be kidnapped by a pair of thieves, then left under the supervision of a man out for his blood and finally rolling around with outcasts.

Yep, fame was rather unnatural. Infamy, not so much.

**18. Double-**

It was green but it was him. He stares at the deep verdant pigment, gazing at the flawless membrane that hid rippling musculature. That could've been him. That should've been him. Well, without the green but the fact of the matter was that it should have been.

But now, he drinks the sight of his green friend in and the jade eyes gaze back into his red and grey stare with apprehension.

**20. Conservation-**

Okay, so he was heartless and ate animals with not a hint of remorse. But he saved the planet in other ways! And not in the more obvious venue of being a superhero either. His little buddy fails to appreciate the fact that all of his tech was close to having zero emissions. Global warming would not be contributed to via super-heroics.

**21. Compliment-**

Robin gazed at the slight shape-shifter intently. Beast Boy's body was taut, anxious and desperate to squirm, wiggle, anything to escape that stare. Robin had few praises thrown his way, but he remembered his parents' excited accolades at any given achievement. But Beast Boy was so young; can he even remember that far back?

"Beast Boy," began the changeling's leader, "you know you did great, right?"

**22. Fortune-**

Raven hated having her fortune told; it felt a little too close to having a destiny again. But when the impish were-ling shoved the fortune cookie into her hands and pestered her to open and read it, she supposed she could give it a chance.

Especially if all of them said "You have a green admirer hanging around you".

**23. Liberal-**

He was a conservative. BB was a liberal. When it came to leadership venues, they were about as far apart on the spectrum as anyone can get.

Still, they sort of shared platforms- Beast Boy didn't agree with everything liberals went for and Robin didn't 'jive' with everything a conservative was about. Unfortunately, they still disagreed since the only things that they disagreed with their own parties about, the other agreed with.

**24. Jelly-**

Jell-o. She hated jell-o with a passion. She also hated jelly. She wasn't sure what she hated more now either. She definitely hated the fact that that imp could turn her knees into either.

And as she leaned against the wall, as her knees insisted upon remaining infirm, Raven glared at the back of the green haired bastard smugly sauntering away.

How did he do that with his tail anyway?

**25. Hurting-**

It didn't hurt. That was all that ran through his head as he stared at the missing limb that was his left forearm. The mangled metal at his elbow was an intriguing sight- hideous and glorious at once.

It didn't hurt, and that was what hurt the most.

**26. Cancer-**

He would never be at risk for cancer. Having conscious control of every cell in his body, he just couldn't.

He smiled with a touch of wistfulness at the conclusion. Some would think that'd be good news.

**27. Rich-**

He had a wealth of it. Or perhaps it was that he clung to it, tight fisted with a stubborn refusal to let go. Robin had said she'd had so much of it. She knew the truth though. She didn't even hold up a candle against the supernova of hope that dwelt in their green teammate's proudly beating heart.

**28. Tree-**

Bruce sometimes stared at the names in the bat family and just sort of loses himself in the names there found. It was growing and he couldn't help but think, sometimes, that he'd made a mistake somewhere along the line. His eyes would then flicker to Dick Grayson and he would remember the Titans. No, no mistake at all.

**29. Cat-**

_You interrupted my date with Star for this?_

_But it's really important! C'mon, my witch persona isn't complete until I have a familiar, and a black cat is awesome! Not to mention its connotations go perfectly with my name!_

_No more pets! We already have Silkie; we're not getting a cat! Ask Raven to get Beast Boy to do it, but other than that, you're out of luck._

_Why would I ask Raven if I wanted Beast Boy to do something?_

A pause. Then-

_Gizmo owes me fifty._

**30. Conspicuous-**

They thought they had been rather obvious about it and they couldn't bear the thought of there being another Robin and Starfire thing on the team, so they tried to be subtle about it. But they kept on thinking to themselves that they were too obvious. Mustn't pay that kind of attention to him/her, it'll give me away, they thought.

Unfortunately, they forgot that they lived with a detective, an emotionally in tune alien princess, and a bionic teen that was very capable of scrutinizing rather insignificant variables (like say, I dunno, hormones?).

**31. River-**

Deep. The currents, swift. The surface, smooth. Underneath it- a maelstrom.

Cyborg was a lake, cool and placid. He was supportive and giving, reflecting the needs of the winds that teased past him.

Star was a hot spring, a warm bath that purifies those in her presence.

Robin was a brook, fast and choppy.

Beast Boy was definitely a river. A swift, deceptively smooth maelstrom. And Raven really could not help being swept up in his currents.

**32. Suffering-**

_Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate will lead to suffering._

_I'm not afraid of you- you're just annoying. _

_Truly? Search your feelings young one,-_

_Young one? You're younger than I am._

_You will find that your annoyance is just another face for your fear._

_And what do I have to fear from you? Your jokes?_

_No, what I am offering is what you fear. Deny it not, youngling._

It's been two hours since she had that conversation with the imp. She still hasn't stopped thinking about it.

**33. Easy-**

Was he just simple? No, his thoughts and dreams gave no evidence to it. He wasn't simple, he simplified. But it was too abstract, too, too much? No, too little perhaps?

She used to be so eloquent but he just blows that sky high without a care in the world. How does one go about describing the indescribable?

He was fast, quick in his calculations, and utterly certain, set. He didn't doubt on the surface, but underneath, hidden away from everyone else. He moved, and people followed, subtly- not like Robin who leads absolutely, he nudges people into place, slowly and steadily.

He was deliberate, like water, flowing. Fluid.

She'd quenched herself of loneliness with his company but now she thirsts for him.

She still hasn't decided on whether it was a good thing or not.

**34. Jangle-**

He was getting restless again, fiddling with the keys. They rattled, clinking and clanking. She watched him, hawk-eyed, as he ran diagnostics for her tower.

Klink, clank; jingle, jangle.

Her eyebrows were twitching, her fingers itched for a stinger, and her breathing was becoming erratic. She had to deal with both Speedy and Aqualad being at each other's throats without so much as mussing her afro/buns but he, just being there, was sending her up the wall.

**35. Grow-**

Star was in an uproar, panicking. Robin was busy trying to placate the implacable alien princess. Raven was staring at the tumble of silk, warily poking at it and wondering if this was how a certain changeling felt about everything he encountered. Beast Boy's attention was split between watching the dully pigmented girl staring at the cocoon and the cocoon itself, bemused by the curiosity in the girl and the biology of the larva. Cyborg was fascinated at the turn of events.

Two nights later, the cocoon ripped and out crawled Silkie, with incongruously small wings sprouting out her back. Star was cooing at the mothlette, calling her precious. Robin was in between relieved and jealous fury. Raven strangled the compulsion to poke and prod. Beast Boy laughed silently at Raven's attempt at keeping decorum. Cyborg, well, he desperately wanted to run tests.

**36. Keep-**

He hated that rook. He hated the bit of hesitation in every one of her strategies. She liked to throw her queen out but when she loses it, she can't seem to go on the offensive.

But what he really hated was that rook. That little bit of safety that she'd always keep by her side, no matter what.

He scowled, fangs bared, as it once again kept him away from her king. From her.

He really hated that rook.

**37. Dark-**

The black of night was a blanket, a comforter that shielded the innocent. She had that blanket and he wanted it.

It's funny because she wanted him for the same thing.

**38. Light-**

Her light burned with a fervor beyond trifling words like holy or damning. When her light blazed forth against the demon that had the audacity to name himself her father, he could've sworn that even the heavenly bodies took a step back in awe. He knows he did and beast in him mused on the thought of submitting for all of a second.

**39. Butler-**

Bruce had been an inspiration to him, a god even. He'd always aspired to be like his mentor. Even when they had parted and his mentor was found out to be not as perfect as he'd once dreamed, Bruce still inspired awe and a sense of perfection for him.

But it was in Alfred that he found a father figure again. Quiet strength and serenity surrounded the aged man.

**40. Holder-**

She liked to think that she held the reigns in their quirky little courtship, just like she liked to think that she held the reigns to her emotions.

Neither of her preferences held all that much truth.

**41. Apology-**

Robin, boy wonder, stared at the door before him. He was out of options; this was the only way he could think of to save his relationship with the red headed princess. He'd finally figured out the fact that he screwed up royally and that he needed professional help.

Still, it irked him to no end that he had to ask Beast Boy of all people for advice on going about apologizing. But the imp did get himself out of a lot of scrapes and with one of the most implacable of people.

**42. Association-**

She had made it quite clear that she didn't want any sort of association with the changeling. Truth of the matter was that it should have been the other way around and since the little smartass liked to throw convention to the curb, she had to try and maintain the principles of life while failing miserably. In the end, she would take him because she was a selfish creature.

**43. Contravention-**

It wasn't wrong, per se, he mused to himself, dodging bladed projectiles and focused bursts of energy. It was a, a game. Up, need to dodge that furry swipe- ooh, incoming metal fist. It was fun and it did pass the time away. His opponents won't admit it, but he knew they had as much fun as he did. Flying debris? Oh, how unoriginal. He'd thought they'd come up with something new by now.

He slipped and slid, ducked and tucked, dipped and dove- and time, time passed on and he had the most fun in his life- that is until next time.

Sitting on the bench to his cell, he figured- so they had come up with a few new combinations and finally caught him. He grinned. This just meant that when he got out, Red X was going to have to devise some new strategies for the wily Titans. His anticipation mounted and he laughed, madly pleased at the prospect.

**44. Rust-**

His skills were deteriorating. Children, who would've thought it'd be his downfall? But the care of a child took precedence to everything else, to every vow he'd ever taken.

His fingers caressed the blue emblem of his uniform one last time before he closed the case for it. Never again.

**45. Component-**

There were no components among the Titans. They were Titans, together they were something more than just the sum of their abilities. Together they were a singularity, they had synergy, a power beyond the mere conventions of what and who they were. A force that could not be computed, calculated, or measured in any way or form.

**46. Aggressiveness-**

In her was the unbridled power of demons, a terrible force that the earth had not seen for eons. In him was all the ferocity of the wild, instinct given thought and word.

When Robin thinks about them in that context, he worries. A little. A lot.

**47. Eroding-**

He woke up, panting with exertion. The pull was growing stronger.

_The wind rustled through its mane, turning its face against stream of air. The pack was around him, it could scent them on the wind. Its eyes caught the silver lantern in the sky. _

Every day he woke, a little more shaken than the night before.

_The silvery orb was full tonight; its influence throbbed through the air. The softly glowing sphere prickled at its senses, exciting it. It howled rejoicing at the fact that it could before it raced forward with abandon._

And every night before he turned in, he prayed that he'd wake up as him and not it.

**48. Whatchamacallit-**

It's a whatchamacallit.

What?

No, a whatchamacallit.

But what is it, Beast Boy?

It's a whatchamacallit.

But that doesn't tell me anything.

Of course it does Robin, it tells you that I don't have a better understanding of it than you do.

It was on days like this that Robin wonders why he keeps going.

**49. Uniform-**

They would never have a uniform. Their tastes, for one thing, were too different and they'd never agree on anything. Then there was the fact that their current articles were wound rather tightly about their pasts.

Besides that, it was just about impossible for them to find a color that would go with everyone without using black and Star refused to wear such a color. Ever.

**50. Exaltation- **

It still freaked them out to find them. The random shrines that popped up, praising them. It got a little too close to being treated like gods. People sometimes came up to them, asking them to bless their newborn.

And of all of them, it was surprisingly Beast Boy that was freaked out the most from it.

He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. He could turn into animals, talk to them even, and understand them. But that didn't justify such adulation, such devotion. Why hadn't the Doom Patrol received such praise? Why was he the one to get it all? What genetic quirk had given him such reprieve? Was it the Titans, was it even him at all?

**author's endnote:** hope it was up to par.


	9. Chapter 9

Began: 2012/04/03

Finished: 2012/04/03

Author's note: hey, hello? anybody out there? is anyone, _anyone at all_, still reading this? no?... damn. if you are out there, drop me a review and i'll climb out of the bottle. thanks. and yes, i know it's been over three years. and if you want an accurate count, i last updated 2009/07/28. okay, so i like to keep a record. sue me.

don't sue me, i'm broke.

Summary: it's a learning experience.

**Languages**

Languages. Raven was fluent in many languages. Some of them were even dead. Some were so obscure they might as well have been dead. So it comes with little surprise that body language wasn't that great a leap for her.

Obviously, Raven is an empath. As such, she is able to feel the emotions of others as if they were her own. (Some, at this juncture would wonder about how she'd be able to control her powers in this case- simply, her powers react not directly to what she feels but how she reacts. For example, if she reacts violently to an emotion that's negative, like rage/sadness, things tend to break. If she's happy, they tend to float then crash. It's rather complicated; just go with it for now. Some. Other. Time.) Coupled with the fact that she has twenty/twenty vision, maybe even better, she is not blind to body language. Well versed in the trade of tongues and not being an imbecile she has quite handily deciphered the code.

Besides which, she's a mage. She has to be observant, molding her environment to her advantage in battle so as not to expend too much energy. Shields produced from raw magic, though strong, are exhausting. She cheats, binding molecules of air together into a solid, though not trifling, was less trying.

But back to the body language. Yes, the monks of Azarath were basically blank faces around her. She supposed it was helpful, actually, for when she met Robin, he was basically the same way on the job. Off work and his face was much more expressive. The domino mask was a pain to read around but she still got the gist of it.

In comparison, Cyborg was a plethora of emotion. But she only got half the story from him. Literally. Not to demean him, but, half his face was cybernetic components. But since they've met, he's been tinkering with that with Fixit, but before, it was off putting. Still, half was better than none, and if she just mirrored the expression in her head, it was sort of complete. Still it threw her when he did the cocked eyebrow thing. If she hadn't had her empathy, she would've had to ponder whether he was surprised or going 'really?'.

Starfire, oh where to begin with Starfire? Much as she loved her alien/sister/best girlfriend, she's thrown her completely with facial expressions. Apparently, Tameranean faces' were built for frowning (Seriously, does this shock anyone? She comes from a world that doesn't have a word for 'nice'. The closest was rutha[sp?], weak.) and had, completely, different, facial muscles.

Let's let that sink in for a bit.

Their faces moved completely different! Sure, the large emotions were the same, the frowns, the smiles- those were fine. But when you get down to the ticks, the little things that tell the subtle nuances that give context, oh it was a nightmare. The muscles clenched in just that little way that would throw her read off. If not for her empathy she'd be clawing her eyes out in embarrassment. Azar above but the girl hadn't only thrown her with the breadth and depth of her emotions, she had to have different facial and body cues to boot. And then, as if that wasn't enough to drive Raven mad, Starfire had to go and try to emulate human cues.

Honestly, Raven didn't know quite how she managed not to rip her chakra stone from her head and chuck the thing far, far away from her at that point.

But if Starfire was bad, Beast Boy, oh Beast Boy, was infinitely worse.

Star could be pardoned for being an alien, different culture, hell, different race. But Beast Boy went above and beyond the call of duty- to frustrate her.

To be fair, he was a rather mixed bag when it came to information she could use to decipher the infinitely tiny body cues that would lead to enlightenment (That was her story and she was sticking to it.). However, he had the annoying, irritating, _maddening_ ability to completely control every. Part. Of. His. Body. Even the involuntary parts.

Seeing as how he could shape shift, it shouldn't have been that surprising. But damn it if it didn't shock her all the same.

But perhaps it wasn't just that he could control every involuntary twitch of his body, after all, he still spasmed when shocked with electricity. It was perhaps that he was infinitely better at reading body language than average. After all, he could communicate with animals in their native tongue, and that tongue is mostly the body. If he could morph and communicate with others of the same species, what does that say about his body reading abilities?

(Raven doesn't like to think that someone could be better than her at something she's actively pursuing. Without any effort at all. It- makes her grumpy.)

That is not to say that his expressions were a complete lost. When he's honest about what he's feeling, his expressions were a gold mine. His range of expressions completely and consistently blew Robin and Cyborg's out of the water. The depth of feeling that he reached rivaled Starfire's, though not quite as often and most definitely not on command (There Starfire was something else in battle. In a way, even Batman had something to learn from her. Walling yourself off from your emotions completely? Easy-peasy. _Raven_ did that. Feeling boundless confidence only to the point where you won't knock someone's head off accidentally? Yeah, not happening.).

But, Azar above, when he's not in a sharing mood? His emotions and body cues were completely at odds. When they first met, he was just beginning. His, talent, was just beginning to peak through. As the years dragged on, though, he consistently expanded his repertoire. Raven wasn't the jealous type, really, but he just grew heads and shoulders over her when it came to body reading. Even Robin took him at his word. If not for her empathic capability, he would have left her in the dust.

(Obviously, this was a rather one-sided competition, meaning it was all in her head. Which made it worse because that means that he really wasn't trying. What Raven didn't know was that he did put effort into it, just not for the same reason she was. 'sides, she was an empath, why the heck would she be worrying about body language?)

But what does this have to do with anything? It's just body language. So what, he could lie better than most people about his emotions, who cares?

Obviously, Raven does.

She did not like how he could and would lie about how depressed he was to his friends. To _her_, even. If not for her empathy, he would've gotten away with it too (Those darn meddling emoticlones). She did not like how he refused to be the stick in the mud in front of his friends so they could help pull him out of his funk.

She especially didn't like the fact that he was the first one to lay a hand on her metaphorical stick pulled it out, cleaned it up, and then send it spiraling into the sunlight, willy-nilly.

… That came out so wrong. How did that happen?

Argh, whatever. The point was he didn't leave his friends down for long; it was their right, their _privilege_, to return the favor. That he downright refuses to allow them to share in his pain, to help him through it, offended her.

And it wasn't even often that he felt down and out of it either. They were infrequent hiccups. But infrequent as they were, they still concerned her. She even talked about it with Cyborg. He was relieved to know that she was looking out for his little buddy. After all, he did have the ability to install a facial cue reader, but BB had the trick to fooling even his software. That the furball even opened up to his tin friend at all was a weight off Raven's shoulders and it was a weight off Cyborg's to know someone had a bead on Beast Boy's emotional welfare.

But it was still very, very irksome. Hmm, that paragraph really ran away there.

The point was, if he could take exception with her foul moods, it was the general consensus that everyone else should have had an equal and opportune chance to do the same with him. Really, it's almost a team bonding thing. That he refuses such things with pithy platitudes of 'I don't want to be a burden' was less than substantial and downright wrong.

And really, it left her with all the work! Honestly, very inconsiderate. Sure, he shared some things with Cyborg that a young man can only share with a brother (Bros before hoes, yo. That wasn't offensive, was it? Really? Darn… sorry.). It was almost overwhelming, really. The attention she has to pay, the long hours at night to review what she's learned. Still…

… she hasn't told Robin.

**End chappy**

Author's end notes: dunno how i slipped in that subtle(ish) bbrae at the end, but there i go amazing myself. okay, so if you squint and read at a certain angle, it comes off as completely, bash-your-head-in-it, bbrae. but i thought for the most part i pulled it off as impartial right 'til the end there. i mean, best friend's prerogative, right? and i thought the whole not telling robin thing could still be read as a friend thing, though, if you're reading this, that means you now know it is bbrae. and honestly, i've never really lied about that. it's kinda on my profile page... before i removed everything and just left the buddha quote. huh, maybe i should put that back. it's kind of creepy without. whatev's tell me what you think. oh, and i'll try to respond to reviews, i was young, socially awkward, and just plain dunno what to say to 'nice story! i really liked it!'. i guess a simple thanks would be appreciated. and i'm still waiting to be roasted, either for grammar, spelling, religion (buddhist), or shipping. oh, and well thought out critiques would be addressed and highly appreciated (CRITIQUE ME!). i'm rather fond of that- i think. i suppose i'd be rather bummed, but it'll help me improve and i'm all for that!

so click it! review! praise me, roast me, whatever floats your boat! just know, if you read and leave, you leave my ancestors peeved. and the angrier they become, the more powerful they get. and trust me, there are a lot more asian ghosts out there than anybody else. and when they sweep down in a towering inferno to wreck havoc and destruction, know that it was you who brought this doom upon us all!

damn, that was a long author's note.


	10. Chapter 10

Started: 2012/04/07

Finished: 2012/04/08

Author's note: i know, another chapter, surprised me too. not doing much right now, and the chapter that came out wasn't quite the one i had intended to write yet, but eh, the other one just wasn't coming to me. so, you're stuck with this. poor you.

Summary: come on, someone had to have an answer for bb's super tea: here's mine.

**That Secret Ingredient- No, not Love**

She had a right to know. She drinks it, imbibes it on trust alone. If he'd just told her what it was, she'd not have been reduced to this, skulking in the shadows, furtive in her movements.

Perhaps this was the wrong place to start.

Raven likes to drink tea. Herbal mixes leave her with a really nice, soothed, balmy feel that, if she was feeling particularly whimsical, she'd figure a purr would've been drawn out of her if she'd been a cat. But Beast Boy prepares her tea with his secret ingredient, and, to continue the comparison in this vein, the effect it has on her was as devastating as catnip for a cat.

She'd tried the nonchalant direct route to divining the secret:

"Beast Boy," the cowled girl murmured, eyes lidded as her nose took in the perfume of steam pluming from her mug. She could feel that slightly intoxicated, high feeling that came with drinking a BB Special™. It had all the effects of a high, and, if uninterrupted, could last for hours. It also had the blessed/cursed factor that, if she were jarred, would send her spiraling toward sobriety. Any criminal that encountered her interrupting her BB Special™ swore up and down that they saw the pits of hell.

"Yeah, Rae?" asked the shape-shifter indulgently, absently browsing a comic at the foot of her bed. Apparently, Raven would suffer his presence within her sanctuary if he appeased her with the BB Special™ (and if he was reading, but that's another story). From experience, he knew he could get away with nicknames and such at the beginnings of her 'trip'. Towards the end, though (when there's only a few sips of her brew left), it was liable to break the spell.

"What do you put in it?" Purple eyes peered over the rim of her mug at the back of the green head at the foot of her bed. She was sprawled comfortably against her headboard, slightly upright, but mostly slouched for maximum relaxation without hindering her ability to sip ambrosia.

The green head of hair turned from the portable gamestation only to reveal a grinning visage, cheekily replying with a very satisfied- "Wouldn't you like to know?"

She bit back the retort at the tip of her tongue; _Obviously, I do; since I asked_. But whenever the Tea was involved, she found herself slightly irrational, fearful of being denied her drink. To be fair, Beast Boy was Cy's best friend and obviously learned from the best how to maximize an advantage over another- read, blackmail. So she let the matter drop.

It's been a few years since then, and her harmless curiosity had not abated. As a matter of fact, it festered, growing and infecting much of her thoughts. She needed to know, had to!

But any inquiry into the matter was subtly deflected, with a joke and a teasing smile or grin. It was lucky for Beast Boy that he seemed incapable of donning a superior smirk against her person- if not, she might have given into her more demonic tendencies and strung him over a fiery pit to get her answers.

So, she made a plan. The first stage went something like this:

"Beast Boy?" she remarked idly, the veneer of nonchalance hiding her raised heartbeat. She was sprawled on her bed and he was reading another book she'd wheedled into his attention, subsequently replacing the portable gamestation as time passed. He's still trying to figure out how she did it.

"Yeah, Rae?" he answered idly, half distracted by the book. God help him, but the book was actually interesting.

"Can you make me some Tea?" She could picture the amused grin that was in all likelihood plastered across his mug. His ears were not for show- he could hear the capitalization in her sentence and she cursed the way the word came out, reverent and slightly awed.

A soft sigh escaped his lips, and she felt slightly guilty- her ulterior motives had taken time away from another's literary scholastics. She asked Azar to forgive her transgression.

"Alright, Rae. Be back in a sec," and with that he picked himself up with a quiet grunt and was out of her door.

Waiting a short interval, she got up and out of her room, trailing him in shadow with charms woven in the air to avoid detection and employing every ounce of Robin's covert tracking skill that he'd imparted to her. It figured that Beast Boy would be one of the most difficult Titans to track unaware- he had a sixth sense that was downright uncanny and this coming from the Titan that actually had a sixth sense- it was in her file.

It didn't help that Nevermore was up in arms about it. Red was all for vindicating her curiosity, roping in Yellow with her natural proclivity towards assembling knowledge of any sort. Green, well known for her animosity towards Red, was goading Raven to find out for the thrill of it- imagine the green bean's surprise when he discovered that she'd covertly spied on him? The Green doppelganger couldn't resist the inherent challenge of tailing the shape-shifter and leaving him unaware. Pink was anticipating the payoff that just knowing would engender in Raven. Grey was all cautionary tales and stuttered, frantic objections. Orange was cranky, anything that was more work than necessary wasn't worth it, but on the other hand she wanted unlimited Tea. Brown was wondering idly at what she could pick up for a keepsake of this event.

Raven felt Purple's unwavering attention upon her. Whenever she'd been roped into watching some of Beast Boy's anime she'd always wondered at why some of the characters would just crack under a blank faced stare- she could better appreciate the effect now.

But back to the matter at hand; Beast Boy had just crossed into the common area/living room/ops room. Not wanting to use the door since his sharp ears would pick up on the hydraulics working she knew she had to shadow-port into the room. Problem, the boy had an uncanny sense for her magic.

Luckily, she came prepared. That she did galled her beyond everything. Look at what that boy did to her!

But, grumbling all the same, she initiated the second phase to her plan, casting spells to dull the perception of her intended target momentarily and shadow stepping into the room. Taking a moment to reorient herself she hid herself away to watch him.

Belatedly, she realized that she could've just shadow-ported here before he'd reached the commons and hid herself in an advantageous spot and thus skipped the whole trailing business, not to mention squandering time to find unnecessary spells to avoid detection. At this point she realized she had a problem and made note to figure it out in a Nevermore session. Later.

As she watched, she saw how involved his process of making her Tea was and was slightly impressed. Nothing she hadn't done before herself, but nonetheless surprising. She supposed she was being unfair, when it came down to it Beast Boy went above and beyond for that which he deemed important. She was just surprised that tea steeping fell into the category.

Snapping back to attention, she watched him as he poured out the hot water that pre-heated her mug. Putting a strainer over the lip of the cup, he added a dab of honey on the strainer, and started to pour the prepared tea from the ceramic teapot into the mug.

Was that it? Honey? No, it can't be- she'd done that herself countless times. Wait, he stopped pouring.

The cup wasn't full yet. She knew how much liquid her pot held, and she knew the max capacity of her cup.

She watched as he removed the strainer, set down the pot and went over to the fridge. Idly, he pulled out his soy milk. With a casual air that she felt oddly inappropriate to the, the depth of her discovery, he finished preparing her Tea.

Her floored reaction almost had her caught in her espionage- she nearly forgot to duck her head behind the sofa. She hid herself away as he left the commons and made his way back to her room. A few moments after he left, she shadow ported to her room.

She got comfortable on her bed, trying to calm the clamor in Nevermore. A large part of her was humbled, she had begun her journey on the Path of Soy (his words, not hers) but this just spoke of the canyon of experience that separated them. She had thought herself closing the gap between them; after all she came close to being proficient at preparing all the tofu meals that he himself had shown her. But this, this was not a matter of following steps and churning out a well-made meal, this was a way of life to him and the profundity of it was quieting.

Besides all that, Red was upset that she never thought to add soy milk to her tea. Purple kept staring at her, the reproof clear in her cool, silent gaze. It hardly mattered, Grey was rather hysterically vocal as if to make up the difference.

So when Beast Boy stepped into her room, mug of piping hot tea at the ready, she took it with a quiet, reverent 'thank you'. Beast Boy eyed her oddly, shrugged and returned to reading quietly. Raven tried to go back to reading on her bed, mug clasped to her bosom (oh my god I used bosom!) but found herself staring at the back of a green head of hair.

After he left, she was so going to Nevermore.

**End chappy**

Author's end note: i suppose it's a sort of sequel to chapter 2. by the way, am i the only one that adds soymilk to tea? i can't be, right? read and review, you'll make me a happy author!


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